Forsythia

We all have to start somewhere. If you can only walk 2 mph on a treadmill that's all you can do. But that is better than nothing. I was well over 300 lbs 7 months ago. I'm almost 200 now. I was doing like 20 minutes on the treadmill and another 10 on the bike. I had to work up to what I do now (over an hour plus weights). But every day is going to get easier to go longer or faster. And that's better than yesterday. That is all that matters. Make today better than yesterday, and if you have an off day, don't get too down on yourself.

I put a scoop of vanilla body fortress in my morning coffee, then get my remaining protein via greek yogurt, cheese, and meat. If there is room left in the caloric tank I add in fruits and veggies. Or some kind of small indulgence like chocolate.

Just remember to really track your food and calories. Eventually you are going to be eating more like 800 to 1200 calories and you will still lose. Just try to make sure those calories are quality and not garbage. I'm an avid exerciser (think over an hour of cardio 4 days a week) and I have to get in around 1200 calories on those days or the body just holds on to the weight.

My picture is cute (I've always photographed skinny in the face), but the weight on my ID is actually within sight now. I'm surprised no one called me out for having 200 lbs as my weight when I was over 300 when the ID was issued!

Sweet. Don't you feel like you are getting away with something in the misses dept? I do! But no one bats an eye, and it's fab.

7 months and still cold. Office buildings are the worst. But in my own house I'm fine. I mean it's December and I'm wearing a short sleeve t-shirt. But I'm at home. If I were in an office building, I'd be sitting in a cubicle freezing.

I was given an rx for senna on my discharge. I'm surprised they didn't give you an rx for something to speed the process along. You might also try prune juice.

I was super happy to go on solid foods. Hated purees. But it is an adjustment to only eat a couple bites. 7 months out it is way easy to eat and not think about it anymore (which is not necessarily a good thing). So just be mindful of it, and go slow. Eat less than you think is a good portion.

How many calories are you getting a day? By 2 months out I was eating between 800 and 1200 calories per day. Are you logging on my fitness pal or some other tracker? You might need to tweak things (add in weights, try interval training, eat more?) if you feel you are not where you want to be. But honestly if you are losing inches you are not doing anything wrong. I lose inches when I stall out. I'm 7 months out and have lost 100 lbs and it gets to be more work. Don't stress out about it at 3 months. You are doing things correctly.

Red wine does not agree with me, but moscato and rieslings are fine in my system. I do occasionally have a mixed drink. I also find I do not get drunk any faster than before surgery.

I never liked yoga. My stomach always got in the way. And it still gets in the way. Stupid stomach. I'm good with Warrior 1 though!!

I have sketchers cross trainers with the memory foam inserts. They are fab. I really like a cushy, well padded shoe though. I've attached a picture of my shoes since since they really reflect my personality. LOL. Shoes are so individual, you really need to try them on, and buy the ones that feel the best on you. Price be damned.

Women, as the child bearing half of the species, are genetically programmed to hold onto weight and fat so as to bear kids whereas men are not. *shakes FISTS AT SKY*

My personal stance on running is that it is useful in regard to the impending zombie apocalypse. I think yes, it gets physically easier to do as you lose weight and there is less stress on your body, but mentally you either enjoy it, or you don't. You've got to get to the point where you enjoy doing it if you want to do it consistently. As for me, as the zombie apocalypse has yet to happen so I've yet to really do any running. I dabble in jogging here and there but will never really be a serious runner.

It's been seven months and over 100 lbs but I still see a size 28 in the mirror. Yet I look at my clothes and think they look so small now. But I've been fat for 31 of my 37 years. I figure it's going to take time for the mind to adjust.

As soon as I was allowed general diet. So about a month out. Never had any issues with it. Of course, I like my steak pretty rare. So it's not going to be tough. If you do try it, try a high end cut as the meat is more tender.

My lunch bag is almost always a frozen meal, a Greek yogurt and some kind of fruit like an apple and beef Jerky or a Protein bar if I'm going to the gym. Seriously, it's the same thing every day. It's sad. But going out to lunch is an expensive waste. $10 on something from the corner bakery or potbelly that will just be thrown out because the portion is ginormous. Also, have a square of chocolate. Or get chocolate yogurt.

I try not to notice. My husband eats like it's the last meal before his execution. Lol. My cat also eats like it's her last meal. Hubby has good genetics on his side but the cat, not so much. She gets a controlled amount of weight control food because of her gluttonous ways. But you were referring to people. I do my best to focus on my plate. I'm not going to judge other people. Maybe they only had black coffee and a cigarette all day to save room for a big dinner? Maybe they are like my husband. I had to adjust my mind to worry about me.

Immediately post sleeve I could only handle my water lukewarm. Before it had to be ice cold. I tolerate cold water just fine now. With or without flavoring. But generally I add flavoring to it. My dollar store sells boxes of sugar free Hawaiian Punch to go packets. I'm all about that.

I'm still losing weight. At a slower pace. About 9 or 10 lbs a month. I'm down 100 lbs from surgery weight and 120 plus from all time high. No real food intolerance. Just red wine. Sometimes if I eat to fast I'll vomit. So I need to work on that. I don't notice any more hunger than I had when hunger initially came back. I can eat more, but I'm not more hungry than I was at one month out. Food schedule wise, I eat every couple hours. I'm not sure if that makes a difference. But I'm eating tiny Snacks frequently to abate any hunger I may have rather than going 5 or 6 hours between meals whenever possible.

I'm one of the rare people whose plan put me on purees the day I got home from the hospital and was on soft solids a week post op. Having said that, this was my plan and I tried my best to follow it. I'm not saying I was a perfect angel. Purees made me very sad. But I did my best to follow the plan given to me. Do your best to follow the instructions given to you. Don't beat yourself up. Just move onward and take every day one day at a time.

Northwestern with Dr. Hungness. Northwestern keeps everyone in the hospital for two days. You get a private room though. Mostly I took laps around the hospital wing and watched reruns of Bones and Castle.

You know, you can get protein pudding from GNC. Kill two birds with one stone. Don't worry about getting in all your protein in the first couple weeks. It's just difficult. It took all my mental energy to just eat anything because I had zero hunger those first few weeks.

Venti skinny caramel iced coffee with half and half. With caffeine. None of this decaf stuff.

Three weeks after my surgery, i went home for memorial day. I was on soft solids at the time. I was in the train station and the only thing that seemed kind of healthy was tacos. So, one of my first meals was a taco. Once you remove the tortilla, there really isn't a whole lot in there. I had no issue with it at all.